Harvest 2022

Looking back over the past months, we are now able to take stock of the 2022 harvest with some relief. Again this year, our team has had to be totally dedicated and extremely vigilant in its task of supporting the vines throughout their growth cycle.

In the Centre-Loire area, as budburst had occurred in mid-April, we were unable to avoid the impact of the frost in some parts. Despite this, the vines grew fairly quickly in the spring, benefiting from temperate and humid weather conditions. However, these conditions also created an environment propitious to the development of mildew and powdery mildew, which had to be contained. After a hot, dry summer, particularly in August, the harvest arrived early, kicking off right at the start of September. The heterogeneous maturity observed in the different areas allowed us to stagger the picking and harvest each plot at the right maturity. The lack of water in August has reduced the yield size, but the quality of the musts is very satisfactory and suggests that we will obtain fresh, well-balanced wines.

In the Touraine area, 2022 began in tricky conditions, reminding us of the difficulties encountered in the previous vintage. After the first bout of frost in April, we were hit by a hailstorm at Whitsun, which damaged many rows of vines in the commune of Mesland. Good weather eventually arrived thereafter bringing high temperatures and low humidity, which reduced the risk of fungal diseases. The application of a light layer of white clay on our vines to repel the sun’s rays enabled the vines to resist the highest temperatures. As for the lack of water, the work carried out on the soil over the last few years has enabled the rare rainfall to feed the vines’ roots quickly. The yields are good and the quality, even better! All our grape varieties show a lovely balance with a special mention going to our Chenins and Cabernets Francs.

Further west, in the Anjou area, the situation is a little different: the harvest kicked off at the end of August and finished at the end of October with the late harvests. The hydric stress was particularly high on our red grape varieties and the Chenins were also affected by the low rainfall, resulting in a harvest volume below the quotas. The wines, however, are expected to be of excellent quality.

Lastly, the outcome of the growing season in the Pays Nantais area, with our Muscadet production, was also positive, with conditions similar to our other vineyards. Here too, the unpredictable weather required constant attention, which was finally rewarded by a healthy, generous and high-quality harvest.

We must now be patient and wait to see the full potential of this 2022 vintage, which is already looking promising in more ways than one!

Arnaud & Laurent Saget